Terminology took center stage at a recent meeting of the Devils Lake Water Improvement district (DLWID) board of directors, as members grappled with the question of how to describe the various threats to water quality.

At their Feb. 2 meeting, board members wrestled with a decision about how to word signs warning of cyanobacteria blooms and went on to discuss whether the nutrients that contribute to those blooms should be described as “pollution.”

In a split vote, the board decided to stick with a modified version of the signage the District currently uses to warn of cyanobacteria blooms rather than switching to a uniform system of signage developed by the state.

Both options give less prominence to the word “cyanobacteria” than the District’s current signs, preferring the terms “Harmful Algal Blooms” and “Blue-green algae,” – a widely used but scientifically inaccurate term for the scummy substance that thrives in nutrient-rich water and can release toxins that affect the liver and brain.

Director Randy Weldon, who helped develop the District’s new signs, said the process was prompted by negative feedback from the public and concerns that the word “cyanobacteria” is “misunderstood or has a super-negative connotation.”

That negative connotation was evident in testimony from Lakefront property owner Larry Brown, who urged the Board to purge the word from all its literature.

Brown said he would have no idea what cyanobacteria were if not for his attendance at DLWID meetings.

“It would throw up in my mind something that’s deathly dangerous,” he said.

But Director Kip Ward disagreed with reducing the prominence of the word, saying the signs play the role of a “warning label.”

“When there is a bloom, our lake is, in a way, a dangerous product,” he said, “and dangerous products have consequences if people use them.”

“To monkey around with the verbiage to make something that’s scary less scary, I think is a disservice to the people that are using the lake,” he added.

Chair David Skirvin said that, while the District’s modified signs use different language, they do not give the impression that “everything’s great” in the lake.

Skirvin said the District signs are more specific to the Devils Lake watershed, something he felt would be lost with a switch to the state option.

Lake Manager Paul Robertson said using the state’s uniform signage could be helpful for visitors, who might be familiar with the signs from other waterways.

Director Brian Green said the best way to tackle misunderstanding is through education.

“I’m not concerned about the scariness or the lack of scariness of a particular piece of information,” he said. “Our job is to put it out there so people can make of it what they will.”

Director Noel Walker said the “Harmful Algal Blooms” header on the state’s information sign could put people off using the lake.